Arron Afflalo soon might spend more time at shooting guard

Josh Robbins, Orlando Sentinel

Arron Afflalo soon might spend more time at his natural position, and if that occurs, it would open up more playing time for rookies DeQuan Jones and Maurice Harkless.

After the Orlando Magic completed their shootaround to prepare for their game tonight against the Detroit Pistons, Afflalo said that other players would "start assuming some responsibility" at small forward.

"Coach may start a 3 man tonight," Afflalo told reporters.

"I'm not sure what he's going to do. You know me, regardless of the situation, I'll adjust and make it right in due time. But guys are going to start assuming some responsibility, and I'll probably get back to my natural position at the 2."

Offensively, a position change wouldn't change much for Afflalo, who is 6 feet 5.

Defensively, however, it would mean he'd spend less time guarding taller players such as Detroit's 6-foot-9 small forward, Tayshaun Prince, who scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting when the Magic beat the Pistons on Friday.

Afflalo was forced to play more at small forward after Hedo Turkoglu, the regular starter at the position, broke his left hand in the season-opener on Nov. 2 and after Jones aggravated a groin injury.

In addition, Magic coaches decided to bring Harkless along slowly after he underwent offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia.

Playing Afflalo at small forward also allowed J.J. Redick to see more time on the court at shooting guard and boost the Magic's offense.

If Afflalo spends more time at shooting guard, Jones and Harkless, who are both 6-8, are the primary candidates to log more minutes at small forward.

Six-foot-10 veteran Josh McRoberts also can play the position, although it's a position he didn't play much during his five prior NBA seasons.

Vaughn was pleased with how Jones, Harkless and the team's other inexperienced players performed during the closing minutes of the Magic's loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

"It tells me that they're picking things up, that they're learning, that they're sending Coach a message to put them into the game," Vaughn said. "So now it's up for me to listen a little bit."

jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.